Pirates kidnapped 12 foreign sailors off the coast of Nigeria's restive and oil-rich southern delta during an attack that left one crew member injured, a naval spokesman said today.

International military chiefs signalled a new, more aggressive strategy against piracy, as swarms of Somalis moved into the waters off East Africa.

Sea attacks worldwide surged 39% to 406 cases, the highest in six years, with Somali pirates' raids on vessels accounting for more than half of the piracy, a maritime watchdog said today.

PIRATES seized a British-flagged chemical tanker and a Panamanian-flagged carrier off Somalia’s coast and were holding 45 crew members yesterday, a maritime official has said.

“No direct contact” has been made with a UK-flagged tanker attacked by Somali pirates since it was seized, the ship’s managers said today.

Somali pirates tried but failed to hijack a North Korean cargo ship when crew members fought back with Molotov cocktails and sped away, a maritime official said today.

Pirates near Somalia were foiled after they attacked a North Korean cargo ship.

Somali pirates have released the entire crew of a Belgian ship seized 10 weeks ago after a ransom was paid, the Belgian government said today.

Somali pirates seized a second ship in less than 24 hours in the Gulf of Aden today.

Pirate hostages were feared at risk of a violent backlash from their captors today in the wake of the successful freeing of an American merchant captain.

In a riveting high-seas drama, an unarmed American crew wrested control of their US-flagged cargo ship from Somali pirates and sent them fleeing to a lifeboat with the captain as hostage.

PENTAGON officials said yesterday that the American crew of a US-flagged cargo ship had retaken control from Somali pirates who hijacked the vessel far off the Horn of Africa.

The American crew of a hijacked US-flagged ship retook control of the vessel from Somali pirates today, but the captain was still being held hostage in a lifeboat, according three people on board.

A new American-led international force to battle pirates off the Somali coast was announced today.

SOMALI pirates seized an Egyptian cargo ship and its 28 crew members yesterday while a Malaysian military helicopter saved an Indian tanker from being hijacked in the new year’s first attacks by pirates in the dangerous Gulf of Aden.

Somali pirates armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons attacked a Dutch-operated container ship off the coast of Tanzania, but failed to hijack the vessel, a maritime official said today.

PIRATES chased and shot at a US cruise liner with more than 1,000 people on board but failed to hijack the vessel as it sailed along a corridor patrolled by international warships, a maritime official has said.

Pirates near Somalia chased and shot at a US cruise liner with more than 1,000 people on board but failed to hijack the vessel, a maritime official said today.

Three British guards sailing on a tanker escaped Somali pirates by jumping overboard today.

THE pirate “mother ship” sunk last week by the Indian navy was actually a Thai fishing trawler seized hours earlier by pirates, a maritime agency said yesterday.

The pirate “mother ship” sunk last week by the Indian navy was actually a Thai fishing trawler seized hours earlier by pirates, it emerged today.

Tanker owners from around the world today called for a anti-pirate military blockade along the coast of Somalia.

THE seizure by Somali pirates of the MV Sirius Star, an oil supertanker owned by Saudi company Aramco, some 450 nautical miles off the coast of Kenya, is a brazen act that represents a major threat to both the world’s energy security and the shipping lanes of the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea.

Somali pirates who hijacked Saudi oil super-tanker Sirius Star yesterday demanded $25 million (€19.9m) in ransom and set a 10-day deadline amid mounting calls for tougher action on sea bandits.

An Indian warship sank a pirate boat after it refused to stop and be searched in the latest encoutner in the Gulf of Aden where piracy has been described as 'out of control'.

Pirates have hijacked a Thai fishing boat with 16 crew members off the coast of Somalia – the eighth ship seized in the area in the past two weeks.

IT has been a busy and profitable past week for Somali pirates — they hijacked a South Korean bulk carrier last Wednesday, released another South Korean cargo ship the next day, and let a hijacked Thai ship go on Saturday after getting a ransom.

Armed pirates in speedboats hijacked a Greek chemical tanker with 20 crew members in the Gulf of Aden near Somalia, a maritime official said today.

Pirates holding a Ukrainian ship laden with tanks and weapons today claimed they were celebrating the Muslim feast of Eid al-Fitr despite being surrounded by American warships and helicopters.

More US Navy forces were sent to surround a hijacked ship loaded with Russian-made tanks today.

A HEAVILY armed US destroyer was stationed off the coast of Somalia yesterday, making sure pirates there don’t remove tanks, ammunition and other heavy weapons from a hijacked Ukrainian cargo ship.

A heavily armed US destroyer was stationed off the coast of Somalia today, making sure that pirates there don’t remove tanks, ammunition and other heavy weapons from a hijacked Ukrainian cargo ship.

Pirates have seized a Greek chemical tanker with 19 crew members off Somalia’s coast, continuing an audacious string of hijackings near the war-torn African country, an international anti-piracy watchdog said today.

AN IRISH marine engineer is among the multinational crew of a Danish-owned tug boat that has been captured by pirates off the coast of Somalia.

Pirates in Somalia have hijacked a cargo ship with dozens of foreign crew members on board.

MARITIME pirate attacks worldwide shot up 14% in the first nine months of 2007 from a year earlier, with Somalia and Nigeria showing the biggest increases, an international watchdog yesterday.

Pirates hijacked a cargo ship delivering UN food aid to north-eastern Somalia today, officials said.

A cargo ship carrying 20,000 tonnes of coal sank off the coast of Somalia, and a rescue mission was under way to save the crew, officials said today.

Pirates hijacked a commercial ship off the coast of Somalia, killing an Indian crew member and wounding two others before releasing the vessel a week later to return to its home port in the United Arab Emirates, officials said today.

Asia’s new initiative to combat piracy and deter terror strikes in the crucial Malacca Straits and surrounding seas is nearly ready to start, Singapore’s defence minister said today.

Pirate attacks worldwide in the first nine months of 2004 dropped to their lowest levels in five years, helped by declines in hotspots such as Indonesia, Bangladesh and Nigeria, a maritime group said today.

Pirates slaughtered 30 seafarers worldwide in the first six months of this year – the highest toll in more than a decade – and governments need to boost patrols in hotspots at sea to curb the violence, a maritime group said.

The risk of terrorists seizing ships for a September 11-style attack is exaggerated, a British security expert said today.

Pirate attacks on ships worldwide fell 23% in the first quarter because of stricter policing in India, Malaysia and the Philippines, the International Maritime Bureau said. But crew deaths jumped fivefold.